Many things are weighed every day: from the greengrocer’s potatoes to the ingredients of medicines. In the latter case, this must happen with extreme accuracy, because 1 mg (0.001 grams) too much of a particular substance in a medicine can be fatal. For tracking down doping, even closer detail is needed. In this case, measurement is to nanograms/litre (0.000 001 g/L).

In mass measurements, it is not only about small amounts. In ports, huge quantities of bulk cargo are unloaded, and these have to be paid for. This often happens by determining the weight. ‘Time is money’ and so the measurement during the unloading has to be done on the conveyor belt, so that correct measurement of the weight becomes complex.

Accurate measurement of mass is important from a safety, health and costs viewpoint. VSL manages the primary standard and provides various services in the mass field to clients including manufacturers of balances and calibration laboratories.

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Recalibration quotation

Mass measurements play a crucial role in trade, industry and in process control. Analytical laboratories also make use of mass measurements. VSL calibrates and adjusts standard weights from class M1 through to class E1, so that the conventional mass, the true mass and the Newtonian mass can be established. A calibration by VSL provides traceability and the highest accuracy in the Netherlands.

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Various manufacturers of measurement instruments calibrate these in their own calibration facilities. They do this to check that the newly-produced instruments comply with the requirements, to check stability, or for periodic recalibration. Of course, the purchaser of the measurement instrument must have faith in the facility and so the measurement uncertainty is important.

Test facility performanceVSL offers CMC Certification. CMC stands for Calibration and Measurement Capabilities. In this, only the performance of the test facility is considered. You receive a certificate containing the calibration facility’s measurement uncertainty and a manual about traceability. With this certificate, you can demonstrate that the measurement uncertainty has been verified by an authoritative and independent national metrology institute (NMI).

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To ensure optimum quality of their measurements, laboratories frequently hold in-house quality checks. However, over time deviations in the measurement equipment can occur that cannot be detected by these checks. VSL regularly organises (international) interlaboratory comparisons, through which your laboratory’s measurement results are compared anonymously to those from VSL as primary standards laboratory and those from other participating laboratories.

In the area of mass, VSL regularly organises proficiency tests (PTs), like:

Need a different interlaboratory comparison? Do you require another type of interlaboratory comparison? Then please let us know. We can assess the demand. Possibly there are other laboratories that would like to participate and then we can organise an interlaboratory comparison. It is also possible to organise a bilateral comparison with VSL.

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Would you like to know more about the accurate measurement of mass? VSL offers open training courses and bespoke training courses that are adapted to your specific knowledge needs.

VSL training courses are always presented by specialists in their field of work. Theory is always combined with practice.

After the course ends, you receive proof of participation.

Mass courseIn the mass field, VSL offers courses including ‘Weighing in the Lab’. During this course, subjects including the following are covered:

Metrology and the kilogram

Measurement methods

Issues that affect mass measurements

Calculation of the measurement uncertainty

Quality

Software aids

For a complete overview of the courses planned and in order to register, please click here.

Mass

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Mass is the last quantity with a tangible standard. This is the International Kilogram (Grand K) made of platinum-iridium that is kept in Paris. VSL manages the Dutch kilogram (PtIr53), which is directly traceable to the Grand K. To calibrate clients’ standard weights, VSL uses high class mass standards that are directly derived from the Dutch kilogram. This short traceability chain and the use of weighing robots guarantee a very low measurement uncertainty. Read more about quality.